"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but how the hell did you find us?" Rick asked, a slight hint of confusion slipping a way through his tone. He reached a single hand out, pulling me into his hospital room with no more than a single nod once I met his gaze. Sprinkled all across his forehead were beads of sweat, dripping down past his cheeks and careening to the floor in a suicide jump after he brought the back of his hand up to wipe away the perspiration.
I released his hand without a second thought, favoring my now sore arms from hacking away with a heavy axe, and gingerly stepped around the piles of rubble littering the floor. Daryl followed through right behind me, ignoring Rick's supportive gesture and instead jogged over to inspect the doors swinging wildly on their last hinge. A few unmistakable groans from live walkers drifted in through the cracks, reminding each one of us that time was still limited. And with a gaping hole in the wall, the geeks could easily slip through from the other room in a surprise attack, snatching one of us away.
Shaking those thoughts away, I looked back up to Rick and forced a smile for his sake.
"We found a tiny security room of sorts. Cameras were still up and running so we figured it wouldn't hurt to turn 'em on." Raking a hand through my hair, I tried as best I could to ignore how tightly Carl was holding onto my legs. His eyes glimmered bright with an oncoming sign of tears as he looked up to meet my pained expression, a wide smile turning up the corners of his lips.
"I just knew if anyone would make it that it'd be you." He blushed, a deep crimson color rinsing out the pale shading of his skin. "Well, you and Daryl."
"Damn right we'd make it back." I replied.
The younger boy released his hold on me for a quick second, spinning around to focus on Lori. Little to no emotion crossed over his solemn expression. I hated to admit it, but her screaming in the far corner of the room almost made thinking an impossible task, let alone trying to remember the basics of how to breathe.
After spending so much time out on the road, trying to keep as quiet as possible, this was a dramatic change. But still, it was better Lori had the kid here, in a place where hundreds of walkers were walking around, but with a bit more protection, rather than out in the open where there was no place to hide. A herd could have easily come across us, splitting everyone apart.
"Do you think the baby will be a boy or a girl?" Carl asked, absentmindedly playing with his fingers. I shrugged in response, unsure of how to answer. All I could think about was what Carl and Rick would think if the baby were a stillborn, let alone a walker. It was a thought that scared the shit out of me, a newborn infant having an appetite for human flesh. But with the day and age we lived in now, there was a big possibility it could happen.
Standing to my feet, I playfully ruffled Carl's hair and watched him retort back with a deathly sneer.
"If this keeps up we'll have the whole fuckin' hospital down on us in three seconds, flat!" Daryl spat from his side of the room, staring down Rick in specific.
"I don't have a damn clue how to make her pain stop, Daryl! Keep your voice down and maybe we'll all make it out of here alive!" Rick argued back, reaching for the holster of his machete tied around his waist. Through all the loud commotion going on, Andrea continued speaking calm, soothing words to Lori. I snickered at the noise level two people happened to be causing and leaned back against the wall, intent on seeing how far these two could drag out such a dispute.
"You've done nothin' but barricade a door and wait for that wife of yours to pop out Shane's kid. I almost died thinkin' of a way to save Glenn and the rest of those idiots' asses! And for what? Only to be yelled at by some asshole officer?" Daryl scoffed, shouldering his crossbow. "Thanks for the appreciation."
"Shane has no business being mentioned in this conversation." Rick breathed in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose before removing his machete in one quick motion from his belt, lunging across the room for Daryl. It all happened so quickly I almost couldn't react fast enough.
Unsheathing my katana from its casing, I rushed up behind Rick and lowered the tip of the blade against his lower back, pressing hard enough to make sure he knew what could happen if he went any further with his actions.
"Touch him and it'll be the last thing you ever do," I whispered. "I can promise you that much."
"That'll do, Kara." Daryl said, eyeing me down in a death glare. "I can fight my own battles." He added hastily, dropping his crossbow to the floor and gnawing angrily on the cuticle of his thumb.
Feeling quite sure that I'd managed to get some kind of point across; I backed away from the two angry men and sheathed my weapon, stalking across the room for the wall furthest from everyone. Carl had a torn look across his face once I walked by; come over to sit by me or remain with his father, who I had just threatened to kill.
He chose the safer option of the two and remained frozen to the floor, his focus now absorbed in picking at the ratty soles of his shoes.
"Once again the teenager sticks up for you, Dixon." Rick mumbled.
"Oh my God, shut the hell up! All of you!" Andrea interrupted. Even though she was shouting louder than any of us had been, there was a soothing tone to her voice. "This baby is literally seconds from coming out. How about you three stop arguing over this stupid nonsense you're worked up over and find us a safe way back to the RV?"
"Sounds about as good a plan as any," I alleged.
"I'll work on movin' these obstructions out of the way." Daryl stated, kicking his crossbow out of harm's way. Without anyone to assist him, he began pulling shelves apart, dragging them over to other corners of the room without so much as a single grunt asking for help. Rick observed his actions in silence before trailing over to Lori's bedside where, in a horrifying way, all the previous commotion fell mute.
My breath caught in the back of my throat, as I stood up, anxious to see what was happening. Andrea and Rick both had tears in their eyes. But not for the reason I was thinking.
"It's a girl," Rick sighed.
YOU ARE READING
The Walking Dead (Fan-Fiction)
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] The world has gone to hell. A virus has taken over, one that doesnt just make you sick, one that kills you and then brings you back as a flesh eating zombie, otherwise known as a walker. Karolina is a survivor in this nightmare of a...
